Tag Archives: wedding

This suite will forever hold my heart as it was done for my bestie, Ivana, and her Match, Ryan.

Ryan, you see, is very lucky guy to have found this strikingly beautiful (and very tall) woman who will want nothing but to spoil him rotten. For a girl who listened to the Food Network as background noise, and who I practically begged to send in an application to Top Chef/Gordon Ramsey, Ryan has effectively ended his days as a misfed bachelor. I’m sure there’ll always be a decent home cooked meal paired with the perfect wine or beer if he just asks nicely! And don’t worry about him mismatching or updating his wardrobe, she will have that covered too.

I’ve known Czech-import Ivana for more than 20 years (I actually knew her before I met her but that’s a long, off point story). She is a classic beauty, with an eye for clean lines, no mess and impeccable style. I should not have been shocked by her mostly single-color sweater collection although later it made complete sense. It’s uncomplicated just like she is. From family vacations, weekday and weekend exploits, and to helping me to experience college life after I graduated from college, she is a forever friend, and I too, am so lucky to have found her and have her as my bestie.

So, when I heard they were getting married and wanted us to design their invitations, I was over the moon for her, but then overly anxious. How could I ever design something that was true to someone who means so much to me? There are so many things I can think of in the 20 something years we’ve put away together. So many memories, but I had to focus on theirs together not mine.

Getting down to creating their stationery suite wasn’t very easy. I wanted to include all sorts of tie ins to their wedding day from the tactile feel of the invite itself, to the message we wished to convey. Of the concepts we developed, this one was the one I felt strongest to. Their chosen venue, Appleton’s historic, Paper Discovery Museum, perched along the banks of the Fox River, pointed us to the Old World-master printing method of letterpress paired with gritty and seemingly imperfect papers. Those picks proved to be an excellent pairing to the solid green ink used throughout the suite. It was subdued, but bold at the same time. A classic look.

For design, we wanted a format that was different. We don’t do square invites very often and I felt that using a square was different and might help to show off a fully justified layout – framed by clean lines and white space. We incorporated old book style, elegant serif typeface for a lighter look and feel (Ivana is an avid book reader, so it made a good connection too). We also included a silhouette of a dachshund as a memento of Ivana’s puppy, Zoe, who was Ivana’s faithful sidekick for 16½ years. Zoe was in the design process all along, barking at me to close the file so she could have Ivana all to herself (whenever I called Ivana, Zoe would undoubtedly start barking until we hung up).

To provide flexibility in the suite, we introduced a pattern on a couple of elements including the back of the invitation. Since Ivana and Ryan planned their honeymoon for Barcelona, the pattern we used is a pull from an artifact of Andalusian tile.

Privy to their wedding day, the I Dos came off without a hitch in 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Aud got it on tape. Great food, great wine, great venue along the river. A happy couple and a so very happy for them friend! Ahoj!

This suite has so many interesting aspects that I’m sure I’ll forget one or two, but it stands as one of those projects that is “art on paper”. Seems fitting that it was for an event in a modern art museum and within the quirky, eclectic atmosphere that downtown Madison is well known for.

First, let’s start with the invitation. It begins as our third “home run” collaboration with the talented, Steph Davies http://www.stephdaviesartmusic.com who continues to create a plethora of material for us to work with. We were provided original pen and ink illustrations of State Street curbside, Madison Museum of Art (MMOA), and a stunning roof top view. Illustrations were pulled into the invitation design and Save the Date (not pictured) projects, preserving the quirky nature of Steph’s drawings. Complementing her work includes a modern font and a stylish handwritten script with graffiti-like undertones for a bit of urban flair.

Paying homage to things old, we found a small architectural artifact on the rooftop of MMOA to play the centerpiece of a laser cut pocket which housed the invitation items. The pocket was created from a paper made from silk fibers that offers a very reflective, high-end, and luxurious look. This piece in particular provided us with some production challenges when it comes to the maximum light intensity of the laser on silk (prompting the mill to ask us for finished samples for their production specifications book), but in the end, we mastered it and all was good.

Complementing the bold blue and black inks on white stocks, is a muted papaya colored stock. These items were printed with silkscreen using the bold blue ink for a lively contrast and tie back to other elements.

A big “thank you” goes to Bethany, Simon and Cherry Blossom Events (Madison, WI) www.cherrybevents.comfor including us in the mix.

Many of our projects over the years provide testament to that thought and this year has been no exception. From a family heirloom home being restored to its original grandeur to become the centerpiece to a wedding celebration, to conveying the often morbid, but important, working relationship of two forensic scientists, or the tiny placement of a traveling garden gnome, our projects typically find their footing in being distinctive, fun and memorable. As we meet with clients, and the brainstorming process begins, we usually look beyond the obvious and work to mine out the important details that really drive home a complete story. We want our work to be so unique that anybody would leap at the chance to be able to come and share the day.

So it’s safe to say that we find it challenging to design invitations that are text on paper and mailed in a plain envelope. Our work strives to be engaging, thought provoking, and different. We push the envelope (for lack of better words), to try new things, challenge our team and be the best we can. It’s a mantra we follow and will always.

We look forward to sharing our projects and process with you through our new website and blog. Thank you for visiting. We have many stories to share.